483: Chapter 483 The Lich's Ceasefire - The Rules of Heaven

Di Jiang's pupils constricted, and his voice boomed like spring thunder: "Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Array—Form!"

The eleven Ancestral Witches stepped forward in unison, their figures blurring like lightning. In an instant, they condensed into a profound and eerie array diagram that manifested at the very heart of the sea of stars!

The Demon Sages were caught off guard, and the expressions of Dijun and Taiyi changed drastically—none had expected the Witch Clan to harbor such a trump card! The two exchanged a glance, knowing things were bad; the Great Array of the Heavenly Stars before them had been hastily deployed, and even Dijun himself hadn't mastered seventy percent of its mysteries. It likely... wouldn't hold.

Yet his face remained impassive as he roared for battle, ordering the Demon Sages to attack that ball of eerie light with everything they had. Strangely, no matter how the stars charged, they either dissipated into thin air or veered off course upon nearing the edge of the array diagram, as if striking an invisible abyss.

The tolls of the east emperor bell and the impacts of the stars all missed their mark. A moment later, a terrifying aura began to bubble out from the center of the array, growing stronger and stronger until it tore through the barrier of the star sea and shot straight into the highest heavens! That aura was gloomy, ancient, and primordial—when the Three Pure Ones sensed it from afar, a chill ran down their spines.

The expressions of the Three Pure Ones watching the battle froze instantly, their pupils shrinking as waves of shock crashed in their hearts—had the Witch Clan truly manifested such an array? Even Laozi, usually as calm as an ancient well, suddenly changed color. His throat tightened as he blurted out: "Great God Pangu!"

Everyone around them shook at the sound, looking at each other in utter horror: How was this possible?

Jiang Chen's spine stiffened as the brand within the chaos bead burned fiercely. In that instant, the pressure that had crushed eternity during the creation of heaven and earth pierced his soul once more. Although what appeared before him was merely the Pangu physical body gathered from residual shadows, its aura weakened to less than a tenth of what it once was... its mere presence was enough to stir the foundations of the Great Wilderness. His gaze darkened slightly as he looked away; the outcome was already decided.

Sure enough, at the center of the Great Array of the Heavenly Stars, a giant that towered between heaven and earth slowly took shape. A monstrous, malevolent power surged like a flood, making the void hum and the stars tremble.

It was not a manifestation of a true spirit, but merely a physical body condensed to the extreme—yet that flesh and blood alone suppressed the great array formed by Dijun and the others until it stuttered inch by inch! As the Twelve Ancestral Witches drove it forward with their combined strength, Pangu's giant fist smashed down with the momentum of a collapsing sky. The entire array stalled instantly; the mere shockwaves were enough to shatter the minds of countless Demon Sages. It was no exaggeration to say that even Saints would have to keep their distance.

As the fist wind passed, chaotic laws danced wildly like blade edges, tearing a gap straight through the foundation of the array. The Demon Sages within were shaken so hard their organs shifted and their primordial spirits nearly dissipated. Seeing this, the battle intent of the Twelve Ancestral Witches boiled over, and a second punch followed immediately—the array walls cracked with a loud snap, spider-web-like fissures spreading frantically. The escaping energy swept across the mountains, turning peaks to dust and causing the earth to collapse in an instant. The power was unheard of!

One had to realize that this was merely the residual force after being filtered through layers of the Great Array of the Heavenly Stars, which was itself a top-tier killing treasure of the Great Wilderness... without the array to buffer it, how terrifying would the power of that punch have been?

While Pangu's body was truly unstoppable, the Twelve Ancestral Witches were also burning their origin essence. But was it worth it? They gritted their teeth and sneered—it was! The third punch smashed out violently, and the array shattered at the sound! Nearly half of the three hundred and sixty-five Great Sages of the Demon Race were obliterated on the spot; the survivors were all heavily injured, their bones snapped and their Dao foundations shattered. Without millions of years of bitter cultivation, they could forget about returning to their peak.

Dijun and Taiyi fared slightly better. Relying on their profound magic power and the east emperor bell to tank a hit, they ultimately stumbled back, spitting blood. Kunpeng, relying on his extreme speed to dodge, was still sent flying by the shockwave, a three-inch crack opening in his shoulder blade. Cold sweat poured down his face as he felt a lingering fear.

Di Jiang stood in the void, and Pangu's giant mouth opened and closed, his voice like a thunderstorm: "Dijun! Taiyi! Today is the day you die!"

The faces of the two were as pale as paper. The previous two punches had exhausted eighty percent of their magic power; at this moment, they could barely even lift their hands, let alone block a third strike. Despair poured over them like ice water, freezing their souls.

The demon soldiers in front of the array also felt as if they were falling into an abyss, watching helplessly as that sky-covering giant fist broke through the air, feeling as if their throats were being crushed by the iron hooves of the Witch Clan. Meanwhile, the Witch warriors roared to the sky, their blood boiling—the position of the Hegemon of the Great Wilderness was right before their eyes! But things are unpredictable, and just at this moment...

When the giant fist was less than three feet from Dijun's brow, ripples suddenly appeared in the sky, and a figure emerged silently. Pangu's physical body seemed to be bound by ten thousand tons of chains, freezing instantly in mid-air—the one who had acted was none other than Ancestor Hongjun, who had merged with the Heavenly Dao. With just a light tap of his finger, he suppressed this world-opening power. It wasn't that Hongjun's supernatural powers were peerless, but rather that the will of the Heavenly Dao was manifesting through his body!

One must know that the Pangu body before them had only a tenth of the original's power, yet it already made the Great Wilderness tremble... how invincible must Pangu have been when he opened the heavens? Had the Heavenly Dao not used the moment of his exhaustion to plot against him, the current state of the world would likely be very different.

With Hongjun's appearance, Dijun and Taiyi escaped death, and the remaining Demon Race was spared from slaughter.

"Hongjun! What does the struggle between the Witches and Demons have to do with you? Don't forget—this world was split open by the hands of Great God Pangu himself!" Di Jiang controlled Pangu's body, his voice raspy like grinding sand, every word filled with hatred. They were only a hair's breadth away from victory!

"Pangu opened the heavens for the multiplication of all living things and the peace of all species, not to indulge you in destroying heaven and earth!" Hongjun's voice was like cold iron, devoid of warmth, as his gaze swept across the devastated Great Wilderness. "Look at these broken mountains and rivers, and the suffering of all creatures. Do you still have the face to mention the name 'Pangu'?"

Though the Great Wilderness was currently scarred and battered, fortunately, the earth veins were not severed and the Heavenly Pillars still stood. Otherwise, had disaster truly struck, it would have been beyond redemption.

Hongjun's face was indifferent as he spoke like a decree: "This matter ends here. What does Fellow Daoist think?"

"As you wish." A soft sigh drifted from the void, ethereal and traceless, as if coming from ancient times. "What is meant to come will eventually come."

"Good." Hongjun nodded and struck Pangu's body with a backhand slap. The Twelve Ancestral Witches felt as if they were struck by lightning, spitting blood as they were sent flying, and the array formation collapsed.

"From now on, the Demons shall manage the authority of the Heavens, and the Witches shall govern the Earth Veins. Within one kalpa, no further war shall be initiated." Before his voice finished echoing, Hongjun's figure had already merged into the void, vanishing without a trace.

This storm ended abruptly, but in the eyes of the gods, it was no different from a thunderclap. Ancestor Hongjun's personal arrival was enough to shake the universe, let alone that mysterious existence who had publicly nodded in agreement, clearly having deep ties with the Witch Clan. For a time, people's hearts were in turmoil, especially the Three Pure Ones; their hearts seethed like boiling water, and as they looked at each other, clouds of suspicion gathered and undercurrents surged.

The Demon Race's vitality was greatly damaged, and they would find it difficult to stir up trouble again in the short term. The various great powers watching the battle cupped their hands and took their leave one after another, their tones humble yet distant, fearing they might catch even a bit of karma before quickly departing.

Both clans withdrew with hearts full of hatred, but everyone knew: after one kalpa, there would surely be a fight to the death, more tragic and more resolute than today.

The Three Pure Ones did not return to Kunlun Mountain but headed straight for Zixiao Palace. If the mystery in their hearts was not unraveled, it would be like a thorn in their backs, making them restless.

"We humbly request an audience with the Master." Facing the suddenly appearing Zixiao Palace, the three looked calm, long accustomed to this.

"The Master has given the order. Three senior brothers, please enter." The gate-keeping boy pushed open the palace doors, his voice clear.

The Three Pure Ones bowed slightly and stepped inside. Looking up, they saw the Ancestor sitting on the cloud platform, and they immediately straightened their expressions and performed a formal salutation.

"No need for such ceremony. What you wish to ask is about Fellow Daoist Jiang Chen's background? Actually, it is nothing extraordinary—at the beginning of creation, he was fortunate enough to inherit a drop of Pangu's essence blood and used that momentum to take form. Furthermore, favored by heaven, he directly condensed the appearance of the Pangu True Body, achieving a body of the Great Dao. His cultivation progresses by leaps and bounds, and while he indeed has bloodline ties with the Witch Clan, he will certainly not side with them because of it."

Hearing this, waves crashed in the hearts of the Three Pure Ones—Pangu's essence blood actually still existed in the world? And he had taken form even earlier than they had? Did this not overturn all common sense?